Civilisation (1966) (Kenneth Clark)

[McCrutchy]

I'm surprised there wasn't already a thread on this, but the BBC have remastered Lord Kenneth's Clark's Civilisation (1969) and have apparently screened it on BBC HD in advance of a 9 May Blu-ray release. I believe this would be the first Blu-ray release of a catalogue BBC documentary, that would have been shot on film.

More info on the series can be found on Wikipedia:

Civilisation (TV Series)

This could be a momentous release considering the implications for the BBC's massive back catalogue of filmed material that could be put out on Blu-ray!

I am also hoping, personally, that the Blu-ray is full 1080p, to respect the format origins.

EDIT: Where did I get 1966 as the year from? Oops...

[The Apocalypse]

This also took my eye, although I'm waiting for a review to come out before I make the purchase. I wonder if I, Claudius was also shot on film...

[Douglas R]

Great series. I've been watching the BBC HD broadcasts but I'm not all that impressed by the picture quality.

[Opdef]

Amazon have this listed for £17.99 so I've had a bit of a punt and pre-ordered it. Usually I'd wait for a review, as I'll be gutted if they've widescreened it like was done to 'The World at War'. That's a pretty good price though for a new 4-disc Blu-ray, only £2 more expensive than the DVD.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by EclipseSSD

This also took my eye, although I'm waiting for a review to come out before I make the purchase. I wonder if I, Claudius was also shot on film...

I think it was video, most unfortunately. I, Claudius was done in the 70s as an in-studio project, and it certainly has that 70s video "look". A lot of great 70s British television (like Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers) were shot on video (though often outdoor sequences were filmed on 16mm) and later series would be shot on film but then transferred to videotape for editing purposes, meaning the episodes only exist in completed form at PAL SD video resolution, and many times the original film is destroyed to save space anyway.

In terms of the 70s, documentaries are probably your best bet for Blu-ray transfers, because some of them were shot on location on film, like Attenborough's Life on Earth, for example, and are likelier to be preserved.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Opdef

Amazon have this listed for £17.99 so I've had a bit of a punt and pre-ordered it. Usually I'd wait for a review, as I'll be gutted if they've widescreened it like was done to 'The World at War'. That's a pretty good price though for a new 4-disc Blu-ray, only £2 more expensive than the DVD.

Users on the Digital Spy forums say the BBC HD broadcast was "pillarboxed", so the BD should be in the correct 1.33:1 OAR. The BBC are generally very good with that, anyway.

[Yami]

I would love a big Attenborough blu-ray boxset.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I think it was video, most unfortunately. I, Claudius was done in the 70s as an in-studio project, and it certainly has that 70s video "look". A lot of great 70s British television (like Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers) were shot on video (though often outdoor sequences were filmed on 16mm) and later series would be shot on film but then transferred to videotape for editing purposes, meaning the episodes only exist in completed form at PAL SD video resolution, and many times the original film is destroyed to save space anyway.

Yes this is sad but true. The big difference between UK and US TV is that almost all US TV shows from the 70's onwards were shot on film and are therefore potential candidates for HD re-mastering. Whereas UK TV shows were mostly shot on video. It's even more sad that much of the BBC's PAL video material dating from the 70's and early 80's has degraded so that greys and browns have now acquired a greenish hue. Just take a look at their DVDs of Porridge, Yes Minister, Dad's Army and several other sets to see how bad they look.

[The Apocalypse]

It's a shame then. I, Claudius is a great series, I've watched it for Ancient History at college. Grown to quite like it. Nonetheless, I might get this Civilisation thing.

[The Apocalypse]

Does anybody have the specs for it?

[pro2501]

[pro2501]

Got mine today. Ask questions if you want to know more.
4 dics, episodes 1-12 are on 3 BD-50 and episode 13+special features are on a BD-25.
A 28 pages booklet is included, with the program, reviews from journalists, credit and synopsis of each episode.
Video is 1.33 (pillarbox on a normal 16/9 screen). The image is relatively good, detail is fine but colors are a bit washed out.
Subtitles are English SDH.
Audio is LPCM 2.0 (actually, "dual mono"). Special features get a 2ch Dolby Stereo (23 min interview) and a 2ch LPCM (2 min gallery)

Bonus : a 23 minutes interview with D. Attenborough (in SD), a 2 minutes photo gallery (SD too).

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by pro2501

Got mine today. Ask questions if you want to know more.
4 dics, episodes 1-12 are on 3 BD-50 and episode 13+special features are on a BD-25.
A 28 pages booklet is included, with the program, reviews from journalists, credit and synopsis of each episode.
Video is 1.33 (pillarbox on a normal 16/9 screen). The image is relatively good, detail is fine but colors are a bit washed out.
Subtitles are English SDH.
Audio is LPCM 2.0 (actually, "dual mono"). Special features get a 2ch Dolby Stereo (23 min interview) and a 2ch LPCM (2 min gallery)

Bonus : a 23 minutes interview with D. Attenborough (in SD), a 2 minutes photo gallery (SD too).

Can you confirm whether the set is full 1080p or 1080/50i?

[pro2501]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Can you confirm whether the set is full 1080p or 1080/50i?

My TV says it's a "1080p/50Hz" source (surely 25 fps).
Links to pictures are awaiting moderation approval...

[Casimir]

Is this set Region Free and will work in Canada? How the picture quality compares to the regular DVD edition?
Casimir

Originally Posted by pro2501

Got mine today. Ask questions if you want to know more.
4 dics, episodes 1-12 are on 3 BD-50 and episode 13+special features are on a BD-25.
A 28 pages booklet is included, with the program, reviews from journalists, credit and synopsis of each episode.
Video is 1.33 (pillarbox on a normal 16/9 screen). The image is relatively good, detail is fine but colors are a bit washed out.
Subtitles are English SDH.
Audio is LPCM 2.0 (actually, "dual mono"). Special features get a 2ch Dolby Stereo (23 min interview) and a 2ch LPCM (2 min gallery)

Bonus : a 23 minutes interview with D. Attenborough (in SD), a 2 minutes photo gallery (SD too).

[pro2501]

Originally Posted by Casimir

Is this set Region Free and will work in Canada? How the picture quality compares to the regular DVD edition?
Casimir

I don't know if it's a "Region Free" or a "B" Blu-ray. There is not a single one indication of region on the case and I haven't got a blu-ray player on my PC to check.

I don't have any screenshots of the DVD version to compare with but I think that this blu-ray is a huge leap forward.
I watched the first two episodes last night. The image offers from "good quality" to "reference quality". Details in "still shots" (for instance, ivory statue or reliquary of Charles Augustus) are amazing, with great colors. There is a thin shivering on some shots as well as color fading or flickering. Black level is simply correct, on some scene it may look like sort of grey. I felt the need to improve my TV gamma (from 2.0 to 2.2) since I had the feeling that the image was a bit overbright.

I have pictures but I can't post any links in the forum, my posts are always deleted soon after I submited the reply...Dunno why

[Casimir]

Thank you for the reply, I hope somebody will write whether this set is Region Free.
Casimir

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Can you confirm whether the set is full 1080p or 1080/50i?

Quote from Amazon

There is not a lot to add to what has already been written about Lord Clark's "Civilisation" since it was first shown on TV over forty years ago. A couple of years in the making it was first transmitted between February and May 1969 - before man had walked on the moon to put it into context! Luckily for us the series was shot on 35mm colour film which has allowed the BBC to be able to produce an HD digital version, which was recently broadcast on their HD channel, and is now available as this Blu-ray Disc set.

The series has been digitally remastered in 1080i / 4:3 and if you caught the HD TV series you may find the Blu-ray version even sharper. I've compared an episode recorded on my Sky planner with the same on disc and I'm sure the Blu-ray just has the edge. There are four discs in the set - the first three have four episodes each and the forth has the final episode and the bonus features. The extras are David Attenborough reminiscing about the making of the series and a stills gallery - both in Standard Definition.

There is a 28 page booklet with an essay containing reflections of making the series, details of each episode and full credits. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how good the series is so I'll just say that it is a concept that was made to be shown in HD - I'm sure Kenneth Clark would have been pleased with the result. This is a series that should be shown to all prospective documentary-makers - how to sell your subject without selling yourself, and how to use music appropriately!

Civilisation looks sumptuous in HD so give your eyes a treat with this Blu-ray Disc version. Five stars for content and presentation - a classic.

[Opdef]

Originally Posted by Casimir

Thank you for the reply, I hope somebody will write whether this set is Region Free.
Casimir

Just been watching this, and I can confirm that this is definitely region-free.

[Casimir]

Thank you for the update. Will order a copy.
Casimir